Ethics watchdog: IRS customer representative urged vote for Obama

A government ethics watchdog agency has filed a complaint seeking disciplinary action against an IRS customer service worker in Kentucky accused of engaging in political activity at work by urging callers to vote for President Barack Obama.

The Office of Special Counsel filed the complaint on Tuesday with the Merit Systems Protection Board, according to the OSC, after a probe found the tax advisory specialist violated a law — the Hatch Act — against such political activity by federal workers.

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The move comes as Republicans on Capitol Hill prepare for a vote later on Wednesday seeking a criminal prosecution against Lois Lerner, the IRS official at the center of the controversy over alleged political targeting at the agency that erupted into a scandal last year.

One taped call found the IRS official cited by OSC telling a taxpayer they should vote for Obama because “Republicans already (are) trying to cap my pension and… they are going to take women back 40 years,” according to OSC.

The OSC also reviewed allegations that IRS workers at a Dallas facility were violating the law by wearing pro-Obama political stickers. The counsel issued cautionary guidance in the matter.